Religions for Peace

The World Conference of Religions for Peace "convened for the first time in Kyoto, Japan, on 16-21 October 1970. However, the origins of Religions for Peace date to 1961, when a handful of senior leaders from the world's major faith traditions began exploring the possibilities for organizing a "religious summit" to address the need for believers around the world to take action toward achieving peace.

"Fulfilling its mission to engage religious communities on the national and regional levels, Religions for Peace is today organized on several levels: the International Secretariat in New York, Regional Conferences in Europe and Asia, more than 75 affiliates at the national level, and a number of local units. Religions for Peace enjoys consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, with UNESCO, and with UNICEF."

World Council
Accessed July 2009:


 * PRESIDENT EMERITUS - HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, JORDAN
 * MODERATOR - *V. Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, Orthodox, UNITED STATES, Director of External Affairs, Orthodox Church in America
 * VICE MODERATORS -Dr. Vinu Aram, Hindu, INDIA, Director, Shanti Ashram; *H.E. Dr. Mohammed Ahmed al-Sherif, Muslim, LIBYA, Secretary General, World Islamic Call Society
 * TREASURER - Mr. Simon Xavier Guerrand-Hermes, Protestant, MOROCCO, Chairman, Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace
 * SECRETARY GENERAL - William F. Vendley

International Trustees
Accessed July 2009:


 * Ara Abramyan, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, Founding President, Concord Corporation
 * Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, MOROCCO, Director General, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
 * H. E. Sheikh Nasser Almutawa Alotaibi, SAUDI ARABIA, Chairman and CEO, Samama Group of Companiesr.
 * Pratap Bhogilal, INDIA, Chairman Emeritus, World Jain Confederation
 * Annette Blum, UNITED STATES, International Consultant, Interfaith Dialogue Simon Wiesenthal Center
 * John Brademas, UNITED STATES, President Emeritus, New York University
 * Christina Lee Brown, UNITED STATES, Co-Founder and Former President, Cathedral Heritage Foundation
 * Owsley Brown II, UNITED STATES, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brown-Forman Corporation
 * A. Huda Farouki, JERUSALEM, Chairman and CEO, Financial Instrument and Investment Corporation
 * Samia Farouki, JORDAN, Founder and CEO, HAIFinance
 * HRH Prince Rashid bin El Hassan, JORDAN, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation
 * Simon Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, FRANCE, Chairman, Guerrand Hermès Foundation for Peace
 * Steve Killelea, AUSTRALIA, Founder, Global Peace Index
 * John Kiser III, UNITED STATES, Chairman, William and Mary Greve Foundation
 * Abdul Ilah Mohammed Rafie Marafie, KUWAIT, Chief Patron Trustee, Marafie Foundation-Kuwait
 * Donna Cochran McLarty, UNITED STATES, Vice Chair and Founding Member, Vital Voices Global Partnership
 * Thomas F. McLarty III, UNITED STATES, President, McLarty Associates
 * Keishi Miyamoto, JAPAN, Representative, Arigatou Foundation
 * Idanna Pucci, ITALY, Author
 * Norio Sakai, JAPAN, Chairman Emeritus, Rissho Kosei-kai
 * Martin Schøyen, NORWAY, Founder, The Schøyen Collection
 * Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, UNITED STATES, President, AKT Development Corporation
 * William Vendley, Secretary General, Religions for Peace
 * Terence Ward, ITALY, Author
 * Samuel Worthington, UNITED STATES, President and CEO, InterAction
 * H.E. M. Javad Zarif, IRAN, Former Ambassador, Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Honorary Presidents
Accessed July 2009:


 * Beatitude Anastasios, Orthodox, ALBANIA, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
 * Holiness Aram I, Catholicos, Armenian Orthodox Church
 * Ela Gandhi, Hindu, SOUTH AFRICA, Trustee, Mahatma Gandhi Trust
 * Majid Ismail al-Hafeed, Muslim, IRAQ, Representative, Ulama Kurdish Union
 * Muhammad Yusuf Hallar, Muslim, ARGENTINA, General Secretary, Islamic Organization for Latin America and the Caribbean
 * Julio Cesar Holguin, Anglican, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, President, Latin American Council of Churches
 * Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, Orthodox, SYRIA, Metropolitan, Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
 * Gertrude Kapuma, Protestant, MALAWI, Vice President, All African Conference of Churches
 * Rolf Koppe, Protestant, GERMANY, Bishop Emeritus for Foreign Affairs, Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD)
 * T. S. Nandhra, Sikh, KENYA, Chairman Emeritus, Sikh Supreme Council of Kenya
 * Abdullah Bin Omar Nasseef, Muslim, SAUDI ARABIA, President, World Muslim Congress
 * Bernard Ntahoturi, Anglican, BURUNDI, Archbishop of the Province of Burundi and Primate, The Anglican Church of Burundi
 * Sofia Painiqueo, Indigenous, CHILE, Education and Culture Director, Mapuche Artisans Association Folilche Aflaiai
 * Holiness Abune Paulos, Orthodox, ETHIOPIA, Patriarch, Ethiopian Orthodox Church
 * Vinko Cardinal Puljic, Roman Catholic, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, Archbishop, Archdiocese of Sarajevo
 * Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, Muslim, IRAN, Secretary General, Women’s Solidarity Association of Iran
 * Jacqueline Rougé, Roman Catholic, FRANCE, Representative to UNESCO, Religions for Peace
 * Ismail Serageldin, Muslim, EGYPT, President, Library of Alexandria
 * René-Samuel Sirat, Jewish, FRANCE, Standing Committee Member, Conference of European Rabbis
 * Din Syamsuddin, Muslim, INDONESIA, President, Muhammadiyah
 * Peter Cardinal Turkson, Roman Catholic, GHANA, Archbishop, Archdiocese of Cape Coast
 * K. H. Ting, Protestant, CHINA, President, China Christian Council
 * Kojun Handa, Buddhist, JAPAN, Supreme Patriarch, Tendai-shu
 * Eric Yoffie, Jewish, UNITED STATES, President, Union for Reform Judaism

Contact

 * Web: http://www.wcrp.org

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Rabbi David Rosen
 * Joan Kirby
 * Farooq Kathwari
 * Richard C. Blum
 * Gunnar Stalsett